Opera singer Russell Watson has revealed his pituitary gland miraculously repaired itself after he battled two brain tumours. The 59-year-old tenor described the medical recovery as a one in a million chance after years of believing the damage was permanent.
Watson shared the news during an appearance on The One Show on Monday evening with hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp. He explained that he previously had to take steroids daily to stay alive following his brain tumour operations.
Watson decided to contact his endocrinologist after struggling to keep weight off. He asked whether a test could determine if his steroid dosage was too high.
"In a nutshell, she rang me up and said that this is like a one-in-a-million chance, but you have started to produce your own cortisol, which is the body's stress hormones," Watson said.
"So I've cut my steroids in half, I went back for another test this week, and I have been told I can cut those in half… it may end up, at the end of it, that I might not need to take the steroids anymore," Watson added. "I am really pleased. Some good health news; it's about time!"
Emergency surgeries and brain tumour diagnosis
Watson was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2006 after noticing his peripheral vision had become blurry. Doctors discovered an eight-centimetre tumour the size of two golf balls sitting at the base of his brain.
Following a trip to LA, Watson underwent a five-hour emergency operation at St George's Hospital in Tooting to remove the mass. However, he faced a second diagnosis and surgery just one year later when doctors found the tumour had returned on his pituitary gland.
The tumours caused significant damage to his pituitary gland, leaving him reliant on a cocktail of daily medications. Specialists had spent years telling Watson that the damage to the gland would not recover.
In a 2018 interview with Best Magazine, Watson admitted that taking daily medication used to get him down and cause depression. "Initially it was a minefield, because I was taking this whole cocktail of drugs to stay alive," he said. "I'd go to bed at night but wouldn't be able to get to sleep - I'd panic because I thought I would die if I fell asleep."
Speaking on This Morning about wakenings after his second operation, Watson recalled believing he had reached heaven. "When I came round after the second op, I remember my eyes flickering open and I saw two white shadows and thought, I did make it to heaven that's nice. Then I realised it was the kids and there were tears streaming down my face," he said.
Balcony moment during illness
Last year, Watson revealed that he briefly considered suicide while struggling with the agonising pain of his illness. Speaking to Kaye Adams on her How To Be 60 podcast, the UK's best-selling classical artist of all time detailed standing on an eighth-floor hotel balcony in Beverly Hills.
"My whole world came crashing down and the pain got worse - everything was exacerbated with the news of what he'd just told me," Watson said. He described the pain as like a dagger being pressed into the centre of his head and twisted.
"It was excruciating and for one moment I stood on my hotel balcony. I literally just thought: 'f**k this, I've had enough.' And I felt like jumping," Watson said.
"And then the thought of the children entered my head and they were little girls then - they're not going to manage without me. Back in the room. Went and lay on the bed, rinsed my face with cold water and took the pain on," he added.
Book release and charitable legacy
Watson documented his health battle and return to performing in his 2024 book, Encore: My journey back to centre stage. He reflected on surviving 15 years after his diagnosis, having previously faced fears that he would never sing again.
"My diagnosis changed everything - all I could think about was how my wife and daughters would survive without me," Watson said. "It was difficult to see beyond my illness at the time, but to be alive and healthy 15 years later is something I'm eternally grateful for."
He also highlighted the impact of charitable gifts in wills. "Often when we are writing wills we think about those closest to us. But a will, much like a piece of music, has the power to touch the lives of so many more. I want others to receive the kind of life-saving treatment that I did, to give that gift of time for which I'm so grateful every day," he said.
Benign brain tumour risks and treatments
A benign brain tumour is a mass of non-cancerous cells that grows relatively slowly and stays in one place without spreading. If a tumour is completely removed in surgery, it usually will not return, though a risk of recurrence remains if the mass cannot be fully removed.
Because space inside the skull is limited, a growing tumour can press on surrounding nerves or extend into the spinal cord. Treatment may not be necessary if a tumour grows at a controlled pace, while surgery carries risks of nerve damage, stroke, and swelling.
Controlled doses of radiation, such as gamma knife treatment, can target hard-to-reach tumours without harming surrounding brain tissue.
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